Effect of the fabric reinforcement of structural holes in wood based panels

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the glass fiber fabric reinforced holes in MDF, PB, OSB, and PL. The fabrics of 19 mm or 50 mm wide were used to reinforce the edge or flat surface of test specimens. The experimental sample groups were formed in 34 different ways. Three different holes configurations were prepared. The samples were subjected to the 3 points bend testing in the flatwise and edgewise directions. As a result of tests, bending strength and modulus of elasticity were determined. The data obtained separately in flatwise and edgewise bending tests were subjected to multiple variance analysis. According to experiment results, the lowest values were obtained in the “fabricless” in both tests. The lowest value was obtained as 12.35 N.m-2 (in PB material) in the group 12, which has samples with the fabric on the edge and 2 holes on the surface in the flatwise test, while the highest value was obtained as 49988 N.m-2 (in PL material) in the group 19, which has samples with the fabric on the bottom edge and holeless in the edgewise test. According to the materials, the lowest values were as 18.32 N.m-2 in PB material, while the highest values were 49988 N.m-2 in PL material. It was determined that the BS and MOE values decreased between 0.3 and 49% in terms of the effect of the hole with fabric on the edge. In the holeless groups, the lowest values 18.32 N.m-2 in flatwised were obtained in fabricless group in PB, while the highest values 49988 N.m-2 in edgewised were obtained in the group of fabric on top surface in PL. The results showed that the fabric reinforcement has a positive impact on the strength.